Greer revives tariffs using labor laws

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• A Federal Reserve Bank analysis revealed that nearly 90% of President Trump's 2025 tariffs were paid by consumers and businesses, a factor economists partially blame for rising prices.
• Jameson Greer, described by Anna Swanson as the influential 'brains' behind Trump's trade agenda, intends to implement new tariffs he believes will withstand legal challenges, asserting prior policies were 'wildly successful.'
• Greer's trade perspective was shaped by his working-class upbringing in Paradise, California, where his father's plastic injection molding job was offshored, and his 2012 experience defending U.S. steel companies from cheap Chinese imports.
• Greer's legal work at Skadden highlighted how slow and narrow existing anti-dumping measures were, as foreign companies easily circumvented specific tariffs by finding loopholes and alternate shipping routes.
• In Trump's first term, the administration issued broad tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods, with Greer arguing unilateral action was necessary to prevent the U.S. from becoming 'policy takers' to China's industrial ambitions.
• Trump's expanded tariffs were globally imposed for about a year before the Supreme Court ruled many illegal, though Greer justified quick action due to a 40% explosion in the trade deficit to $1.2 trillion by 2024.
• Greer claims tariffs provided leverage, enabling new trade deals with partners including the U.K., EU, India, Indonesia, and Japan, and he has no regrets about the legal strategy despite billions in refunds.
• Greer identifies three tariff goals: increased manufacturing GDP share, reduced trade deficits, and higher real wages; he highlights a 5% rise in manufacturing wages last year and net positive manufacturing jobs in Q1 2026 as successes.
• Greer argues tariffs do not cause inflation, citing that inflation fell from 2.7% in July 2018 to 1.7% in 2019 despite escalating tariffs, blaming money supply, the Iran war, and service costs.
• Anna Swanson counters Greer, noting that economists and Federal Reserve studies indicate tariffs contributed to increased consumer prices and offset recent wage gains, with inflation now outpacing wage growth since 2023.
• Greer dismisses public opinion polls showing opposition to tariffs, asserting the 'robust' American consumer will ultimately see the policy's benefits, such as increased U.S. steel production outperforming Japan since 2018.
• The administration plans new, globally extensive tariffs, including 10% on over 80 countries for forced labor practices and on 40+ countries for unfair trade, aiming for the highest U.S. tariffs in roughly a century.
• Greer defends imposing tariffs on allies, stating the U.S. must act unilaterally to protect its economy because other countries have different interests and are too slow or bureaucratic to align against rivals like China.
• Greer gives his trade policy an 'A' grade, arguing it reverses a 30-year trend of 5 million manufacturing job losses and 70,000 factory closures, a legacy Anna Swanson suggests will be difficult for future administrations to undo.
• At least three U.S. service members were killed in the Middle East over the weekend during the Iran war, with two dying in an Iranian attack on a Jordan airbase and one missing.
• Spain won its second World Cup by beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time, a disappointing defeat for Leonel Messi, who, at 39, potentially played his last World Cup game.